Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and co-driver Chris Patterson held an advantage of 2minutes 03.6seconds after the opening leg of the Jordan Rally, round four of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Dubai's Shaikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum completed the leg in second position, while Jordanian drivers Amjad Farrah and Faris Bustami were third and fifth overall.
Sharjah's Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi held fourth place in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
In temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Centigrade at the lowest place on earth, teams were forced to endure the adverse elements, in addition to coping with slippery and technical special stages for this WRC candidate event, which finishes on Saturday evening.
Al Attiyah drew first blood by beating Dubai's Shaikh Suhail by 21.6s and Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi by 24s in the opening Turki stage.
It set the tone for the morning, with Shaikh Khaled and Shaikh Suhail locked in a battle for second place, ahead of Jordan's Amjad Farrah, Shaikh Abdullah and Jordan's Faris Bustami.
"I started very well and set a good time on the first stage," said Al-Attiyah.
"But then there was a problem with a gear linkage. This is a very difficult rally. You need four or five days to set the car up properly for these stages. It has been very challenging."
Leading positions at end of leg one after Special Stage 10:1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Chris Patterson (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1h 50m 06.5s; 2. Shaikh Suhail bin Khalifa Al Maktoum (UAE)/Wael Marjan (UAE) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1h 52m 10.1s; 3. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Khaled Zakaria (HKJ) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 1h 56m 24.1s.
